It's Not That Easy

Good and Evil are always present in our world. We see examples of good people and deeds, balanced with the stories of evil that we see in the world today. But it’s harder to see the line between good and evil than we first realize.

Mathew 7:18 says, "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.” But is it always this clear cut? Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars saw himself as a savior to the world, but we all see him as a villain. In a much more serious and real-world example, we see ISIS and other jihadist groups as “evil”, but they certainly believe that they are justified, killing and slaughtering in the name of their God. We see “good” people and deeds all the time, but do these deeds define who that person is?

A tougher example still is NFL player Ray Rice. Is Rice an “evil” person because he committed a horrible and heinous crime by knocking out his then-fiancée, and mother of his child, with a hook to the face? Rice was always well received in his city, because he was known as a generally “good” guy who worked in his community and with children in particular. But those things cannot and don’t justify his actions. They just muddy the line between good and evil even more.